Tom Cruise, the face of Scientology, is calling it quits. Reports say Cruise is leaving the Church of Scientology. The surprising move for the 52-year-old Cruise, who has been an outspoken advocate for Scientology and its associated social programs, comes as gossip sites say the actor is fed up with the bullying ways of the L. Ron Hubbard body of beliefs and practices, especially when it comes to Tom’s 9-year-old daughter Suri.

Writes HollywoodLife.com: “This is huge news! After years of being involved (and controlled by the church), Tom Cruise, 52, is reportedly quitting Scientology for good and it’s all for daughter Suri Cruise, 9. After a heartbreaking phone call with Suri, the actor allegedly realized he’s missing out on all of her milestones and the only way to get back into the young girl’s life is to cut ties with the church.”

Speaking of the multiple missed birthdays, school events and social functions involving Suri, Cruise’s daughter with ex-wife Katie Holmes, an insider explained to Star Magazine:

“She was going on and on about her ballet class and how much she loves it. That’s when Tom realized he’s never seen her perform ballet and he started to tear up,” the insider claimed. “It hit him that she’s growing up before his eyes and he’s not there to witness most of it. They talk on the phone and video chat, but it’s not the same.”

The Church of Scientology promotes a befuddling set of beliefs, called dynamics, based on loosely scientific principles involving the body, spirit, emotions and the mind. Scientology places paramount importance on survival, which it subdivides into eight classifications. A person’s desire for their mind and body to survive fall into the first dynamic. Family comes a distance second.

As the most visible devotee of Scientology, the possibility of Cruise leaving the church over his crisis of faith versus family is quite the shocker.

“Tom has been under tremendous pressure where Suri and Katie are concerned because the church doesn’t want him close to them. They can’t stand that their own poster boy isn’t raising his child in the church,” the insider said.

According to sources, Suri is in danger as being dubbed “suppressive” to the church – a labeling and shunning of any person deemed antagonistic to church policy and one’s spiritual growth.

“If they label Suri a suppressive person, as they’ve been known to do with dissenters, that would make it hard for Tom to have a relationship with her. He’s between a rock and a hard place, but he’s finally making a choice to put his daughter first,” reports the insider.

Cruise first became involved in Scientology in the early 1990s with his first wife, Mimi Rogers, claiming that the church cured him of dyslexia. Since that time, he has gone through two other wives and a number of controversial disputes related to Scientology.

In 2004, Cruise stumped for the Scientology belief that mainstream psychiatry and psychoactive drugs are useless, making the statement that “psychiatry should be outlawed.” A year later he had a very public dispute with actress Brooke Shields, whom Cruise openly criticized for using the anti-depressant drug Paxil to recover from postpartum depression.

In response, Shields blasted Cruise, telling him that he should “stick to saving the world from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression decide what treatment options are best for them.” Cruise later issued a public apology.

Adds Cruise’s Wiki page: “In 2013, Cruise stated that ex-wife Katie Holmes divorced him in part to protect the couple’s daughter Suri from Scientology. He also said that Suri is no longer a practicing member of the church.”

See also:

Scientology leader’s father set to release tell all memoir debunking church

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